• Businessweek, Wednesday, March 23, 2011 10:27 AM

Groupon president and COO Rob Solomon is stepping down, BoomTown's Kara Swisher first reported on Tuesday. "It's not clear what the reasons for Solomon's departure are, but the move seems to be sudden," writes Swisher. "It is also unusual given the fast-track trajectory of Groupon, which is currently considering an IPO at gigantic badillion-dollar valuations."

Groupon CEO Andrew Mason on Tuesday sent an internal email to staff about Solomon's departure. In the email, sources tell Swisher, Mason said Solomon was moving back to "'God's Country' in Woodside, CA" from Chicago, where Groupon is based. Solomon joined Groupon about a year ago, after serving as a partner at venture capital firm Technology Crossover Ventures, as well as an exec at Yahoo.

Solomon said he's better suited to navigating a company through a rapid-growth phase than when it has become large. "I'm great at a lot of things, I'm not the guy who wants to run a 10,000 person company," Solomon said. "I'm much better at the start-up and growth stage."

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